T-Mobile and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation: Empowering the Leaders of Today

Noelia Velazquez aspires to be on your mobile device and TV, bringing you exciting interviews and the “main character energy” of a talk show host. The recent high school graduate uses her experience in professional gymnastics and pageants to craft her on-screen presence, and hopes that getting a degree in broadcast media will help her realize her dream career.

But funding that college degree and finding a mentorship network doesn’t come easy. That’s when Velazquez, who is Latina, found the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), she says.

“While searching for scholarships, HHF came up, and it was this huge community of Latinos, so I knew I’d feel right at home,” she says. “I’m Puerto Rican, and growing up in a small town, I came to learn the importance of community and family support.”

Velazquez says since becoming the gold recipient of HHF’s Youth Award in the Media & Entertainment category in her region of North Carolina, she has been gifted more than a grant to help her with college. It’s provided her a community of support.

“I will now be attending High Point University as class of 2028 this fall, majoring in broadcast journalism, which is incredible,” Velazquez says. “There are so many doors that have opened after receiving this scholarship. I was given the opportunity to attend events where I was able to meet other award winners in the Media & Entertainment category as well as professionals from the field.”

Velazquez’ story is one of many that Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of the HHF, says is the heartbeat of the organization’s mission. He wants Latino youth to be ready to join the growing workforce in the U.S. — the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 78% of all new jobs, or nearly eight out of ten, will be filled by a Latino over the next seven years.

“There are over 60 million Latinos in the U.S., and we have to make sure we’re part of a connection that moves the country forward through access to technology and all of the different tools that you need to be able to innovate, create and grow,” Tijerino explains. “A young person with access to a device and Wi-Fi has an unbelievable reach. T-Mobile and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation want to make sure that they have access to those tools, access to that confidence, access to that vision.”

Now entering its 26th year, HHF’s Youth Awards program has selected over 4,700 youth from more than 35,000 applicants across the U.S. and Latin America each year to receive grants and development opportunities in various fields such as technology, green sustainability, healthcare and science, and entrepreneurship and business. Tijerino says with the help of longtime partner T-Mobile, which is donating $200,000 to support HHF’s efforts this Hispanic Heritage Month, the foundation can use the power of connectivity to support its Youth Awardees in achieving their goals.

Youth Awardee Velazquez says this investment in her future will have a lasting effect.

“Now with HHF, I have that community, not of just my family, but of all these different people I’ve met,” she says. “You have to be proud of who you are. There were times growing up I forgot where I came from. I know now I have such a special community, and as I get older and go into my field, I can lean back on those people and have their support in the future.”

Starting Tuesday, Sept. 17, you can join T-Mobile in its support of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and its commitment to donate $200,000 to support their efforts in providing scholarships to help pay for college, fund community service projects and provide networking and resources for Latino high school seniors.